Welcome Visiting Scholar Chris Prom

The Archives, Records and Artefacts blog welcomes new poster Chris Prom, who is visiting ARMMS and CAIS under a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award. Chris will be with us through early June 2010 and is sponsored by the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and the Centre for Archive and Information Studies at the University of Dundee.

Chris will be leading a research project concerning "Practical Approaches to Identifying, Preserving, and Providing Access to Electronic Records." He is undertaking this project whilst on sabbatical from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is Assistant University Archivist and Associate Professor of Library Administration. Chris also holds an appointment with the University of Illinois' Graduate School of Library and Information Science, where he is Adjunct Associate Professor of Library Administration and where he teaches a distance-learning course concerning the administration and use of archives.

Here is Chris's first post:

"I'm thrilled to be visiting ARMMS and CAIS for the next 10 months. My project is intended to test some of the software and conceptual approaches that have been developed for working with 'born-digital' records having archival value. There are many tools to identify and test, and I have much to learn since this is a bit of a new area for me."

"I think ARMMS and CAIS will be great sponsors. My colleagues here are keyed into the electronic records work being completed in the UK and elsewhere. The CAIS program puts them in touch with the practical needs for archival education as well as a ready supply of students who will bring their own ideas and thoughts to the table. Finding easy and effective ways to work with electronic materials are issue number one for current and future archivists not only in the US and UK, but worldwide."

"The main goal of the Fulbright Program is to increase international understanding within a shared realm of experience. While I feel very humbled to have been selected for an award, the simple fact of the matter is that the Fulbright Commission sees problems relating to electronic records as important and as an area where shared knowledge and expertise are critical to future success."

"One of my highest goals vis-a-vis the Fulbright is to work with a significant Scottish organization or individuals whose records or papers are currently 'slipping through the cracks' or are at risk of loss or deletion. While pursuing this goal, I look forward to making many new friends and colleagues both in Scotland and in the rest of the UK. I welcome contact from anyone who would like to work with me or who can supply records to be used in my data testbed."